


Convention

by Kyuubiluver342



Series: The Many Times Seto Kaiba Was In Debt To Joey Wheeler [7]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Gun Violence, M/M, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 12:07:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16932966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: Seto just wanted Mokuba to be safe. Mokuba just wanted to go to a gaming convention and Joey? Joey got dragged along for the ride.





	Convention

Convention

 

“Let me get this straight, you want me to go with Mokuba tomorrow to a convention because you can’t make it?” Joey Wheeler asked, arms crossed.

Seto grit his teeth, hating the smugness in the other’s tone. If it was anyone else, he wouldn’t make a big deal about it, but security was stretched thin right now between Seto going to check on the new construction going on at Kaibaland and Mokuba going to this gaming convention. Normally, Seto would just let the cards fall as they may, but with Joey helping them out the last few times, a small part of him was telling him to send Joey along just in case.

“Look, Mutt. I am just doing this to keep Mokuba happy. He likes having you around for some insane reason and if it keeps him happy, then I am willing to pay to have you go too. So are you going or what?” Seto demanded.

Joey rolled his eyes, knowing for the fact that wasn’t the full story. But it did amuse him quite a lot that Kaiba, of all people, had personally come to his work to talk to him. At first, Joey was positive Kaiba had showed up to mock him and make fun of his place of work, a coffee shop, but when he had asked to speak to Joey privately, he figured it was more than that. It had been just about time for his break too, so he had spoken to his manager and now they were standing in a back room.

“I dunno, Money-bags. You are kind of catching me a little off guard here. I mean, I could have work tomorrow.” Joey mocked, but Seto rolled his eyes.

“I know for a fact you don’t.” he replied.

“How the hell do you know that?” Joey questioned, but Seto just looked away.

Joey felt a little creeped out, but kept it to himself. He thought it over before sighing.

“Fine, I’ll go. You are paying right?” Joey asked and Seto nodded.

“You will be compensated for your time.” he replied and Joey just sighed.

“Fine, fine. Whatever. I got to get back to work, so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Joey stated.

With a final nod, Seto left and Joey stood there, wondering why he did the things he did before he went back out to deal with more annoying coffee lovers. The next day came too quickly and Joey found himself outside the front door of the Kaiba Mansion. He knocked once and was let in by a maid, who quickly left. Joey stood there, looking around idly before he heard footsteps. Mokuba poked his head out and blinked.

“Joey? What are you doing here?” Mokuba asked.

“Your brother asked me to go with you to the convention today.” Joey stated and Mokuba’s face soured.

“I told him I didn’t need a babysitter! I am old enough to go to this convention myself!” Mokuba snapped angrily.

Joey winced. He had a feeling this would happen. Mokuba was starting to become more independent and he had no doubt this would have been an argument between the two. Not wanting to deal with a pissed off Mokuba all day, he made a snap decision. 

“Mokuba, it ain’t about you. He said something about me ‘learning what it took to be a real duelist’ or some bullshit like that. He’s paying, so I figured I’d come anyway.” Joey shrugged, acting like he was annoyed and Mokuba seemed to calm down.

Mokuba grumbled a little while longer, but seemed to be over it by the time they got in the car. They were driving to the next town over and Mokuba pulled out his laptop to get some work done when he paused. This was the first time in a while he had Joey alone, without his brother around to distract him. Glancing Joey’s way, Mokuba opened a blank word document and decided to see what he could learn about Joey.

“So how’s Serenity?” Mokuba asked, startling Joey away from his daydreams.

“She’s great! Started taking some photography classes recently. I think she has some real talent.” Joey said excitedly.

Joey talked for a while about his sister and how she was doing, even showed Mokuba a website she had set up to show off her pictures. She actually was really good and Mokuba could admit that openly. He noted she seemed to take a lot of pictures of nature, but there were plenty of her friends too. Not many of Joey though, which Mokuba found odd and he asked about it.

“Me? Nah, I’m not good with photos and that kind of stuff. I mean if she wanted to, I’d do it.” Joey rubbed his neck and Mokuba wondered before asking.

“What about your mom?” he asked and Joey paused.

“Ma? Well, umm it’s complicated. I don’t really talk to her. I hear about her from Serenity and everything, but we don’t really talk.” he admitted softly.

There was something so sad about his tone. A sad longing that he seemed to have. As if he wished he could have a better relationship with her and Mokuba understood that feeling a lot.

“Why can’t you?” he questioned.

Was he pushing too much? Probably, but he was curious.

“Well, it’s hard. I mean, there’s a lot we never really got a chance to discuss or fix, especially after Serenity’s surgery.” Joey was stumbling over his words, getting frustrated when he couldn’t explain himself well before finally giving up.

“I guess I just never forgave her for taking Serenity and leaving me behind.” he admitted after some time and Mokuba looked down.

It was clear that Joey was bothered by it and he doubted even talking it out would fix the pain of abandonment, but maybe it was worth a try? He was about to suggest it when Joey looked at him.

“So you got to question me, can I do the same to you now?” Joey asked and Mokuba paused.

“Sure, I mean I did ask you a lot of personal questions.” Mokuba stated.

“What is Money-bags like? Like really like? I mean, he acts completely different when you are around.” Joey asked and Mokuba blinked.

“Seto’s...difficult. I mean I love him dearly, but he’s controlling, overprotective and god is he a workaholic. I mean if he could upload his brain to our mainframe without ending up like Noah, I think he would.” Mokuba complained before stopping.

“But you’re right. He is good to me. Takes care of me no matter what and I know, despite what you say, he talked you into this because he was worried about me.” Mokuba side eyed Joey and he gave a nervous laugh.

“Caught me there.” Joey admitted.

“My brother is difficult, but he is a good person. He’s just very concerned that we could be taken advantage of if we trust the wrong person.” Mokuba finished and Joey crossed his arms with a hum.

“Yeah, I get that feeling. I mean, if I didn’t trust Tristan with my life, I would have never let him date Serenity. It’s hard when you are the older brother, when you feel like it’s your job to protect your younger sibling from everything and everyone.” Joey muttered and Mokuba looked at him.

“You worry about her? Even now?” Mokuba asked.

“Of course. I worried about her all my life. It didn’t matter if we lived under the same roof or separate ones. I always worried for her, I just didn’t have the power to protect her like your brother does.” Joey eyed Mokuba and Mokuba looked down.

He had always bitched about how overprotective Seto was and how much time and money he wasted on protecting Mokuba, but now? He seemed to get it a little better. Mokuba sat back and looked out the window before one final question came to mind. Dare he? Dare he ask?

“Joey...what about...your dad?” Mokuba asked.

Joey shut down so fast Mokuba’s head spun. Suddenly his very expressive face seemed to be carved out of stone.

“My dad is difficult. We have a hard relationship.” he said tensely and Mokuba winced.

He should have just kept his question to himself. He knew Seto had looked into the man, but as far as he knew, Joey’s father was just this shadow figure in Joey’s life.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Mokuba said. 

Joey just nodded, but said nothing and looked out the window. The rest of the car ride was in silence. They made it to the convention hall and got out, Mokuba paying attention to the people all around them. Joey seemed to eye the crowd, but shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking. They got inside and the place was huge and crowded. Mokuba kept close to Joey and their security as they moved through the crowd. It was time to get started.

About half way through the convention, Mokuba was starting to get a headache. There wasn’t a lot here he didn’t already know about or had a hand in. Clearly this whole convention was a waste of time. As they moved into a panel room, he looked over at Joey. He had kept to himself most of the day, talking very rarely and staying close to Mokuba’s side. Admittedly it was nice because Joey seemed to have this ability to keep people away, but at the same time, Mokuba wondered if he was still upset about before. As they went to sit down, Joey suddenly pulled on his sleeve and started to pull him off to the side.

“Joey! What are you doing? I want to be in the middle!” Mokuba hissed, but Joey just kept moving and sat them down at the far edge of the room.

Mokuba huffed and crossed his arms, glaring angrily. He refused to sit down, ignoring his security guard asking if everything was ok.

“What was that about? We can’t even see anything over here!” Mokuba snapped and Joey rubbed his eyes.

“Didn’t you say something about Hammer Technology before?” he asked and Mokuba paused.

Hammer Technology was run by Justin Hammer, who was a joke in and of himself. The man claimed to be a genius, but as far as Seto and Mokuba had ever found, he was just a thief and a copycat, stealing others’ ideas and reselling them as his own. Personally, Mokuba hated the man and wished to stay as far away from him as possible.

“What about it?” he asked.

“They were sitting behind us. I could see him eyeing your laptop bag. I figured it was best not to make a scene.” Joey stated and Mokuba blinked before looking back.

Sure enough, Hammer and his cronies were sitting in the row behind where they were going to sit. Mokuba sighed and sat down, looking at Joey sheepishly.

“Sorry. I should have been pay more attention.” he admitted, but Joey just pat him on the head.

“No problem, kid. He’s been following us around the hall all day. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but it happened one too many times.” he said and Mokuba nodded.

They sat through the panel and while Mokuba found it rather boring, Joey seemed to be interested. He would ask questions and Mokuba would answer. He had to remind himself that Joey usually didn’t see this side of the dueling world, so his questions, while simple, weren’t stupid. As it ended, Joey stood up and stretched, sighing as his shirt rode up a bit.

“Mr. Kaiba! And my, is that Mr. Wheeler! How nice it is to see you both!” a sickeningly sweet voice said and Mokuba could have sighed.

Turning, he saw Hammer standing there, but Mokuba noticed his eyes were locked on something else. A quick glance told him the man was staring at Joey, specifically Joey’s exposed skin. Mokuba was immediately on guard.

“Mr. Hammer, nice to see you as well.” Mokuba said stiffly.

Joey just crossed his arms and eyed the man with boredom. He didn’t seem impressed at all and Mokuba couldn’t blame him. Hammer was a thin, sickly looking man with dark eyes and white hair, despite his age.

“I hope you both were just as riveted with the panel as I was. I thought my engineers did a marvelous job.” he said with a toothy grin.

“Eh, it was ok.” Joey said and Mokuba smirked.

“I found it rather dull myself. After all, the technology they were talking about was already perfected by KaibaCorp, so I didn’t see anything really of importance.” Mokuba stated simply.

The man’s smile dropped a bit before he turned to Joey fully. Mokuba could feel the shift in the air and nearly growled.

“Mr. Wheeler, It’s such a pleasure to meet you in person. I have heard so much about you and I have to admit, everything I heard was spot on. Justin Hammer.” he said holding out his hand.

Joey eyed the hand like it was going to bite him, but shook it anyway. He didn’t even bother to hide his grimace. The man’s hands were sweaty as all hell.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, I guess.” Joey said calmly.

Mokuba was secretly pleased by Joey’s disinterest. Hammer had tried and failed to start his own duelist sponsorship program and one duelist they knew he was after was Joey. He had fought them tooth and nail to get at Joey, but every way had been blocked and in the end, Joey had picked KaibaCorp over everyone else.

“I heard you are participating in the tournament next month. Hammer Technology is one of the sponsors for it, as I am sure you know.” he said and Joey shrugged.

“Don’t really pay that much attention to that shit. I don’t care who sponsors it as long as I can participate.” Joey stated.

“Of course, KaibaCorp is sending Joey and a few other duelists, so I am sure my brother and I will make it out as well.” Mokuba cut in and Hammer tilted his head to the side.

“Is that so? How wonderful. I haven’t seen your brother in a long time, I hope he is doing well.” Hammer stated stiffly.

Mokuba could have smirked. If there were two people who didn’t get along, even worse than Seto and Joey, it was Seto and Hammer. Seto seemed to have no problems with calling Hammer out as a thief and a fraud. Mokuba usually found it very funny to watch.

“He’s doing great actually.” Joey piped up and Mokuba glanced at him.

“Oh? Are you close with the brothers then, Mr. Wheeler?” Hammer asked and Joey shrugged.

“I’m here with Mokuba, aren’t I?” Joey replied and Mokuba wished he had a camera. 

The look on Hammer’s face was priceless, worth every cent in the bank. Mokuba hoped he would remember it for years to come.

“Ah, well isn’t that...nice?” Hammer stressed and Joey nodded.

“I mean, Money-bags and I were in the same class, hung out with the same group of friends, etc. We even participated in the same tournaments with my buddy, Yugi.” Joey was lying quite a bit, but Mokuba wasn’t about to correct him at this point.

Hammer seemed to pause, staring at Joey with something akin to hunger. Suddenly, Mokuba didn’t like this conversation anymore.

“Ah yes, that does make sense, doesn’t it? I mean, Mr. Kaiba always did like to surround himself with only the best.” Hammer stated and Mokuba frowned.

“Of course. Kaibas only deserve the best and that’s why we work hard for it.” Mokuba replied, but Hammer ignored him, instead continuing to stare at Joey.

“But as far as I can tell, he doesn’t exactly treat you like the best, am I right? I mean, I am only hearing from outside sources, but last I heard, he wasn’t exactly singing your praises, despite how hard you’ve worked.” Hammer pointed out and Mokuba could have punched him.

“Listen, I could really care less what you have to say about me, but leave Money-bags out of it. He ain’t even here to defend himself.” Joey growled and Hammer held up his hands.

“My apology. I was just curious as to why a top ranking duelist like yourself allows yourself to be treated like some sort of show dog.” Hammer said sweetly.

Joey sucked in a harsh breath and Mokuba swallowed. He had talked to Seto about how he treated Joey in public, but Seto couldn’t seem to control himself. He would say he wasn't going to rise to the bait, but every time Joey and he were in the same area, they seemed to fight like cats and dogs. Mokuba had always warned that it might come back to bite them in the ass. Was now that time?

“Listen here, jerk-off, what happens between me and Rich Boy ain’t any of your damn business. We’ve been like this for years and he knows as well as I do that I have his back like he has mine. So take your opinions and shove them. I ain’t interested.” Joey growled.

Hammer looked like he wanted to say something else, but Joey was done. He turned and walked off, making Mokuba blink and quickly rush after him, worried he was upset. Instead, he found Joey outside the panel room, leaning against the wall.

“Joey?” Mokuba asked, but Joey just smiled.

“I’m fine, kid. Just didn’t expect to have to go to war with some prick.” Joey stated and Mokuba nodded.

“Maybe it’s time we head home. That was the last panel I wanted to see.” Mokuba said.

It was a bold faced lie, but Joey didn’t call him on it and they were quick to leave. In the car, Joey leaned back in the seat and stared at the ceiling before speaking.

“He reminded me too much of my dad.” he muttered and Mokuba paused, startled.

“That whole greasy car salesman thing he had going on. Always saying shit like that with a smile, through clenched teeth. Acted like he had a silver tongue or something that could get him out of trouble.” Joey rambled before pausing and closing his eyes.

“I haven’t seen him since the day before I got shot.” Joey stated and Mokuba blinked.

That had been so long ago that Mokuba had almost forgotten about it.

“Do you know where he is?” Mokuba quietly asked and Joey shrugged.

“I have an idea.” he replied, but said nothing more.

Mokuba bit his lip. He had all the sources a person could ever want. If he wanted to, he could probably find Joey’s father in a heartbeat, but did he dare? Joey didn’t actually seem interested in finding him, so maybe it was best to let it lie? As the car slowed to a stop at a red light, Mokuba sighed.

“Joey?” Mokuba asked and he opened one eye.

“Thank you for coming with me today. Hammer isn’t a bad guy, but he always manages to get under my skin. I don’t like being around him by myself.” Mokuba admitted and Joey smiled.

“Like I said, it’s no problem. A guy like that is way too slippery, so I get your hesitation around him.” Joey stated.

Mokuba turned back to his laptop and opened it up. As it booted up, he noticed a new email pop up on his phone. He opened it, only to pause. There was nothing in it, but an attachment. Opening that without a second thought, ice ran through his veins. It was a picture, of him and Joey, sitting in the back of the limo. 

“Joey?” he whispered, eyes wide.

Joey frowned and looked over, staring at the picture. He grabbed Mokuba by the back of the head and shoved him to the floor as the glass window behind them shattered on Mokuba’s side. Joey slammed his fist on the limo screen as Mokuba screamed.

“Drive!” he roared as a second shot his the other side of the glass and shattered that too.

The limo sped off and Mokuba trembled, clinging to Joey’s shirt with a harsh sob. As the sped through the streets, Joey eyed the back window before pulling out his phone.

“Money-bags, it’s Joey. Look, we were shot at. I’m taking Mokuba someplace safe. I’ll tell you the address later.” Joey snapped before ending the call and turning his phone off. 

He shoved it into the backseat before grabbing Mokuba’s and dropping that one there too. He slammed his fist against the screen again.

“Stop here!” he yelled, opening the door, even before the car fully stopped.

He quickly dragged Mokuba out of the car and put him on his back before running off. Mokuba buried his face in Joey’s neck, hands trembling as he held on for dear life. They ran for a while before Joey stopped. Walking up a flight of stairs, he pounded on the door, eyes darting around as they stood there.

“What!” a familiar voice roared before the door was yanked open.

Yami Bakura stood there, angry as all hell, Ryou standing just over his shoulder. Ryou seemed startled and quickly ducked under his Yami’s arm.

“Joey? Mokuba?” he called.

“We need to come in.” Joey said and Yami scowled before pulling Ryou away.

Joey walked in and Yami glanced around outside before closing and locking the door behind them. Ryou led them to a couch and Joey placed Mokuba down before wrapping him in a blanket.

“What happened?” Ryou asked as he got them some water.

Joey was standing by the window, arms crossed. Yami was leaning against the wall by the door. Mokuba took the water with a small smile and Ryou smiled back, adjusting the blanket to cover him more before sitting down next to him.

“We got shot at. You guys were the closest.” Joey stated.

Yami scuffed and Ryou glared his way. Mokuba looked between the two and wondered.

“You came here because you knew if anyone tried to get through that door, I will be more than willing to break their minds.” Yami said, but Joey didn’t correct him and Mokuba shivered.

“I need to let Seto know I am ok.” Mokuba muttered.

Ryou quickly handed over his cell phone and Mokuba nodded. Dialing Seto’s number, he closed his eyes. It rang once before he heard Seto answer.

“Seto, it’s me.” he said quickly.

“Mokuba? What the hell happened? Wheeler called me, told me you were shot at, then hung up! Then I get a call from the driver, he says he has no idea where you guys are. That you bailed out of the car and your cell phones were in the back seat!” Seto snapped and Mokuba sniffled.

“We were shot at. Joey bailed out and we are at Bakura’s.” Mokuba muttered and Seto went quiet.

“At least you are safe with those psychos.” Seto finally muttered and Mokuba laughed.

Sure, Seto had never liked Yami Bakura and was wary of Ryou, but at least he understood.

“Are you staying there for now?” Seto asked.

Mokuba repeated the question to Joey, who nodded.

“We’re not sure where this guy could strike next. Best to stay here where we have the upperhand.” Yami stated as he played with his Ring.

Mokuba shuttered and suddenly was very happy they had came. Sure, Yami Yugi was strong too, but he had mellowed out with Yugi as his other half. Yami Bakura, on the other hand, was much more willing to go that extra mile to keep his Ryou safe. Mokuba talked with Seto for a while after that, keeping them both calm. He told him about Hammer (“The stupid Mutt actually stood up for me? I’m flattered.” Seto mocked.) and about the picture (he vaguely heard Seto yelling at someone to hack Mokuba’s phone and find out who sent that picture), but mostly they talked about stupid things.

Construction was going well at Kaibaland, even if it was a little behind. Seto was pleased with how it was looking and hoped it would be done by the time the park opened in the spring next year. Mokuba was starting to run out of things to talk about when Joey stood up straight from where he was leaning, eyes locked to something outside. Ryou looked up, worried as Yami pushed off of the wall and came to stand next to Joey.

“Mokuba, put the phone on speaker.” Joey said and Mokuba was quick to do that.

“Money-bags, did you send someone to come get us?” Joey asked.

“I didn’t tell anyone where you all were yet.” he replied and Mokuba paled.

“Because a huge van full of people just showed up.” Joey stated as he tensed and Mokuba’s hands started to shake.

“Ryou, take Mokuba to the back bedroom.” Yami growled.

“Yami?” Ryou called, voice small.

“Just do it. Keep Kaiba on the phone.” he snapped and Ryou quickly led Mokuba to a back room, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Mokuba, what is going on?” Seto demanded and Ryou quickly lowered the volume.

“Seto, people are here. Joey and Bakura told us to go to the back room. Please tell me you have someone on the way?” Mokuba whispered.

“Roland and his team are en route.” Seto replied as Mokuba heard something hit the front door.

He pressed against Ryou’s side and prayed they would be here soon as another hit came to the front door. There was another bang and then silence. It was quiet for the longest time and Mokuba was about to say something when Seto spoke.

“Roland is there with the police. He says they are rounding everyone up. You should be safe now.” Seto’s relief was clear and Mokuba squeezed his eyes shut.

Two quick knocks came to the door and Ryou sighed as he got up. Yami was at the door and if he was grinning like a madman, Mokuba ignored it. Joey was standing by the door and Mokuba winced when he saw the two detectives from last time talking to him. Mokuba moved closer and stood beside Joey, who idly placed a hand on his head and began pet his hair. Why Joey seemed to have such an interest in his hair, he didn’t know, but he let it be, feeling somewhat comforted by the closeness.

“Mokuba?” Seto called from the phone, making him jump. 

He had completely forgotten about him. He quickly told him everything was fine and that they would talk later before hanging up. The detectives seem to be respectful and Mokuba made a note of that. They had no idea who the men in the van were, but they were quickly arrested and the van towed. Roland was waiting outside with a new limo and after saying goodbye and making sure that Bakura and Ryou were safe, Mokuba crawled in. He was exhausted, the day seeming extremely long. Joey climbed in behind him and honestly Mokuba didn’t remember the ride home. 

Instead, he was woken up some time later by Seto, who came flying into the house like a bat out of hell. The two clung to each other and Mokuba learned Joey had carried him in and placed him on the couch before leaving. As they sat there, Mokuba told him all about what he had learned about Joey and Seto listened. As the day turned to night, the brothers found themselves lost in thought.


End file.
